Tag Archives: seasonal fruits and vegetables

Potassium intake and blood pressure

High dietary potassium (K+) intakes and blood pressure are inversely related: animal studies, observational epidemiological studies, clinical trials, and meta-analyses of these trials support this.
Furthermore, the prevalence of hypertension tends to be lower in populations with high K+ intakes than in those with low intakes.
Finally, an increase in potassium intake (2.5-3.9 g/d) reduces blood pressure in normotensive and hypertensive, and to a greater extent in blacks than in whites.

Dash Diet and potassium intake

Controlled feeding studies (“The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Study” and “OmniHeart Trial”) have highlighted the role of a good potassium intake, along with other minerals and fiber, in blood pressure reduction.
These studies have shown that a dietary pattern rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products, with whole grains, poultry, fish and nuts but poor in fats, red meat, sweets, and sugar-containing beverages reduces blood pressure.
These dietary patterns are rich in foods high in K+, as well as magnesium, calcium and fiber, but poor in total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol.
The best result on lowering blood pressure are with black participants than white participants.

Potassium, sodium and blood pressure

The effects of potassium on blood pressure depend on the concurrent intake of sodium and vice versa:

on the other hand, the blood pressure reduction from a lowered sodium intake is greatest when potassium intake is low.

An high K+ intake also increases urinary excretion of sodium, the so-called natriuretic effect.
In the generally healthy population with normal kidney function the recommended potassium intake level is 3.1 g/day. But, in the presence of impaired urinary potassium excretion, a K+ intake less than 3.1 g/day (120 mmol/d) is appropriate, because of adverse cardiac effects (arrhythmias) from hyperkalemia, that is, blood potassium level higher than normal.

Mediterranean Diet and potassium intake

Fig. 1 – Fruit, Vegetables, and Blood Pressure

As already pointed out, the best strategy to increase K+ intake is to consume legumes, and fruits and vegetables in season, i.e. foods high in potassium, that is also accompanied by a variety of other nutrients. No supplements are needed.
Therefore, it is sufficient to follow a Mediterranean dietary pattern, for:

meat and fish products, both fresh and preserved (the latter, however, should be avoided because of their high sodium content).

Note: cooking methods tend to reduce the K+ content of the food.
To reduce potassium loss, avoid boiling in plenty of water, for more than an hour, vegetables cut into small pieces (this increases the “exchange area” with water).

Writing Group of the PREMIER Collaborative Research Group. Effects of Comprehensive Lifestyle Modification on Blood Pressure Control: Main Results of the PREMIER Clinical Trial. JAMA 2003;289:2083-2093 [Abstract]

Health benefits of seasonal fruits and vegetables

Numerous studies showed that seasonality plays a key role in optimizing the antioxidant properties of fruits and vegetables. For example, a recent Chinese study have investigated the influence of growing season (summer vs winter) on the synthesis and accumulation of phenolic compounds and antioxidant properties in five grape cultivars. The study showed that both phenolic compounds and antioxidant properties in the skin and seed of winter berries were significantly higher than those of summer berries for all of the cultivars investigated. Finally, to choose seasonal fruits and vegetables also ensures considerable saving of money.